Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Udon Noodles With Creamy Tahini Sauce, Roasted Kale & Tofu

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I love tahini sauce thanks to this easy vegan noodle salad. The creamy lemon-y tahini sauce with roasted tofu and kale is so divine. This can be a great weekday dinner. I love the contrast of the crunchy greens and tofu with the creamy sauce. You should give it a try!

Udon Noodles with Creamy Tahini Sauce, Roasted Kale & Tofu

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 200 udon noodles
– 300 g firm tofu, cubed
– 1 bunch of kale, cut the leaves into bite size pieces
– 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
– 1 teaspoon chili flakes
– 4 tablespoon tahini
– 2 teaspoon soy sauce
– juice of 1 lemon
– salt, pepper
– coconut oil (you can use sunflower oil too)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press the block of tofu for about 20 minutes to remove most of the moisture, and then dice into very small cubes as well. Arrange the tofu cubes on the parchment paper, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons coconut oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes at 180C (350F) or until golden brown. Set aside.

Cook the udon in salted water according to package directions, then drain well and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoon coconut oil in a pan and saute the garlic and chili flakes for a minute. Add the kale and cook for about 10 minutes until a bit crunchy.

In a small bowl whisk together tahini, soy sauce and lemon juice. Toss the kale and udon together in a large bowl with the roasted tofu and add the tahini sauce.

Roasted Tofu Sandwich with Peanut Sauce

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Peanut butter is my friend. I usually eat it straight from the jar… or I mix it with mascarpone, cane powder sugar and vanilla until smooth. This is my lifesaving dessert if I don’t have anything sweet at home! But I haven’t eaten it in a savoury dish before. So it was time to discover something new…

The something new was Megan’s vegetarian blog I found on the internet about a month ago. She is an amazing photographer and a great cook. I like her healthy, yummie recipes. This peanut sauce won my heart straight away so I gave it a try… I loved it.

What is your favourite dish made with peanut butter?

Roasted Tofu Sandwich with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the sauce
– 1,5 cup peanut butter
– 250 ml coconut milk
– 1 onion, chopped
– 3 cloves garlic, chopped
– 2 tablespoons coriander stalks, chopped
– 1/3 cup coriander leaves, chopped
– 1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
– 1 lemon’s freshly squeezed juice
– 1 teaspoon curry powder
– 1 teaspoon salt
– pinch of chili flakes
– 2 tablespoons coconut oil (you can use sunflower oil too)

For the roasted tofu
– 300 g firm tofu, cut into 0.5 cm thick slices
– 3 cloves garlic, chopped
– 2 tablespoons coconut oil (you can use sunflower oil too)
– salt, pepper
– 1 baguette
– sprouts

Method

Heat the coconut oil in a pan, add chopped onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add coriander stalks, curry powder, chili flakes and grated ginger. Continue to heat in the pan for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and stir in lemon juice, coconut milk and peanut butter. Continue to stir until everything is well combined and warmed through. Season with salt and before you serve sprinkle with coriander leaves.

In a non-stick pan heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the tofu slices to your hot pan, add some freshly ground blackk pepper and salt. Let these sizzle over medium heat for 8 minutes. Once the bottom side is browned, go ahead and flip. Add chopped garlic and roast long enough to make sure the other side gets good colour and crispiness.

Cut the baguette in half lengthwise, spread each slice with the peanut sauce, add the tofu slices and top with sprouts and the top of the baguette.

Spicy Udon Noodles with Cabbage and Shiitake

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I mentioned earlier that I have been a fan of oriental noodles – udon, soba, vermicelli, etc. – for a while. Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle popular in Japanese cuisine. The origin of udon in Japan is credited to Buddhist priests who traveled to China around the beginning of the 9th century to study Buddhism. He got back to Japan with the recipe of udon.

Udon noodles are served chilled in the summer and hot in the winter. Toppings are chosen to reflect the season and to balance with other ingredients. Most toppings are added without much cooking.

Spicy Udon Noodles with Cabbage and Shiitake

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the noodles
– 200 g udon noodles
– 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, soaked in water for about 30 minutes, caps thinly sliced
– 1 small cabbage, thinly sliced
– 4 cloves garlic, chopped
– 150 g tofu, diced
– 1 small piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
– 4 spring onion, thinly sliced
– 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
– 1 tablespoon coconut oil
– salt

For the sauce

– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 2 tablespoons water
– 1 teaspoon dried chili

Method
In a dry pan toast the sesame seeds over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until pale golden, then transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the coconut oil in a pan, add garlic and ginger and saute them until fragrant. Add shiitake and saute, stirring frequently until it gets tender. Reduce the heat to medium and add tofu, after 5 minutes cabbage and spring onion too. Cook, stirring occasionally until tofu and cabbage is crisp-tender and a bit golden brown. Pour over the sauce, simmer 2-3 minutes more. Set aside but keep it warm.
While cabbage is cooking, cook udon in boiling salted water until the noodles tender. Drain well, transfer to a large bowl, give the vegetable mixture, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with fresh chopped spring onion on top.

Vegan Pho Soup

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I have been the fan of oriental noodles for a while. Then I saw a short video about Vietnamese Pho soup. I knew I had to try it. After learning it what I should put into the vegan pho soup base I started cooking.

The first tasting was a bit different but from the fresh ingredients and the herbs it turned out better than I had expected. I will definitely cook it again.

Vegan Pho Soup

Ingredients

For the broth
– 3 carrots, sliced
– 1 celery (tuber), sliced
– 1 onion (leave the skin on), chopped into half
– a piece of ginger (leave the skin on), chopped into half
– 3 teaspoons soy sauce
– 1-2 teaspoons salt
– half lime’s juice
– 1 lemongrass stalks, thinly sliced
– 3 liters water

For the soup
– 200 g rice noodles, cooked according to the instructions on the bag
– 8 pieces of dried shiitake, stemmed, soaked in water for about 30 minutes, caps quartered
– 3 spring onions, chopped
– 200 g bok choy/spinach, chopped
– 200 g tofu, diced
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 small piece of chilli, chopped
– fresh coriander, chopped
– salt, pepper
– soy sauce
– lime
– coconut/olive oil

Heat a dry pan and lightly brown onion and ginger (cut-side down). Place the onion and ginger in a pot, then add carrot, celery, lemongrass and water. Bring it to boil then simmer it for about 30 minutes. While making the broth, cook the rice noodles. Heat coconut oil in a pan, add garlic, then tofu, season with pepper and soy sauce and fry it. Set aside.

Check the flavour of the broth, add soy sauce, salt, pepper, lime juice, continue to simmer for about 5 minutes then strain the broth. In a soup bowl place some noodles, bok choy, shiitake, tofu, spring onion and pour the soup onto the toppings. Sprinkle with coriander and chilli and season it with soy sauce, lime juice if it’s necessary.

Soba Noodles With Roasted Broccoli, Tofu and Sesame Seeds

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I started cooking with Japanese noodles a couple of weeks ago. So far I tried udon and now I cooked a simple noodle meal from soba. Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko) and wheat flour (komugi-ko). Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Soba is typically eaten with chopsticks, and in Japan, it is considered acceptable to slurp the noodles noisily.

Go and give it a try!

Soba Noodles With Roasted Broccoli, Tofu and Sesame Seeds

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 200 g soba noodle
– 150 g firm tofu, cubed
– 1 medium broccoli, cut into small florets
– 3 cloves garlic, chopped
– juice of 1/2 lemon
– 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
– 2-3 teaspoon soy sauce
– 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil

Method

In a pan heat coconut oil and sauté garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add broccoli, roast for 6-7 minutes, then add 2 tablespoons water to it, put a lid over the pan and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add tofu and sesame seeds and cook without a lid until tofu gets a bit brown.

In the meantime cook the soba in slightly salted water according to package directions, then drain well and toss it with the roasted broccoli and tofu. In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce and lemon juice and add it to the soba salad.

Serve and enjoy!